NBA Legend Yao Ming's Panda Mission

Yao Ming, retired from the NBA's Houston Rockets, helped release six giant pandas into the wilderness of China's Sichuan province this week in an important move that will hopefully help the future of the species.

New Tang Dynasty (NTD) Television reports the goal is to replenish the giant panda population in the world. These six pandas, between the ages of 2 and 4 years old, were carefully chosen from 108 of the animals at a base in Chengdu. Researchers spent a year observing the animals to see which would be best for the project.

Only 1,600 endangered giant pandas are believed to live in the wild, according to the AP. More than 300 pandas are in breeding programs in China.